Women Subjugation in Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride

Women Subjugation in Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride

The Pakistani Bride (1990) by Bapsi Sidhwa’s is a novel which describes the tragic plight of women’s struggle to live in a brutal and self-centered patriarchal society. It is a true story of a girl from mountains who tries to escape from her husband’s home and was followed and killed at the hands of her in laws. Although in reality that girl was murdered but in her book Sidhwa allows her heroine to run and to survive all odds laid down against her by her in laws. The book primarily presents stories of three brides - Zaitoon, Afshan and Carol.

At the age of fifteen Afshan was married to a ten year old boy named Qasim. The marriage took place compellingly because her father had not been able to repay his debts that he had taken from the boy’s father. Afshan was offered as compensation of the loss and to cover up her father’s failure. Neither the age gap matters nor the amount of the loan is mentioned. The amount could be ten rupee or ten thousand however the daughter is always used for the settlement. This transaction exposes the position of a woman as nothing more than a “bargaining commodity”. The wish of the girl is never important, not at the time of such settlements or at the time of ‘Nikah’ (marriage),

“Thrice she was asked if she would accept Qasim, the son of Arbab, as her husband and thrice an old aunt murmured ‘yes’ on her behalf”(p.8).

 Nevertheless, when Afshan saw her husband she was quite surprised by his physical appearance.

“She had been thinking that her groom was very young but she had thought that he would be, like herself, at least fifteen. She began to laugh, while tears of disappointment slid down her cheeks. She laughed uncontrollably and Qasim stung to the quick, rushed for the door”. (p.10).

This shows the horrific dilemma of Afshan and how she reacted to her ill fate. Later in the story she further expresses her views:

“I used to wander by the streams or sit on the some high place dreaming of my future husband .Gusts of wind enveloped me and I’d imagine the impatient caress of my lover”, she said. She is accepted by the boy’s family because “The sturdy middle- aged tribesman knew just how generous the offer was. Any girl- and he had made sure that this one was able-bodied – was worth more than the loan due” (p.7).

In our society women have to accept and adjust without any complaints and in their every day life they are denied existence. Afshan, left with no other option, also accepts her fate. The story has been dealt with utmost sympathy towards the subjugated women who are forced to accept their life partners as a bargain to the transactions amongst the male dominant society. It also highlights the innumerable sufferings that women have to go through in order to hold back their desires.

The second story in the novel is all about a lady from California named Carol. She falls in love with a Pakistani soldier but she is not permitted by her parents to marry him because of the fear that she may get converted to Islam and also that she may not be able to adjust to the highly conservative culture and traditions of the country. Although finally she goes to Lahore, Pakistan where she experiences the over possessive attitude of her husband and she decides to go back to her native place.

Through Carol’s story he writer tries to represent the problems faced by an open minded woman when she tries to settles down with a man of different religion, in this case the Islam. After her marriage Carol gets too much attention from Farukh whereas when they arrive in Pakistan the situation changes as the Pakistani society has a strong segregation of genders. In this society:

“A man may talk only with unmarriageable women his mother, his sisters, his aunts and grandmothers” (p.113).

Carol being brought up in the western style of living fails to understand this difference of genders and keeps on following her western ways. The unanticipated attention from Pakistani men flatters her and due to her western upbringing she enjoys this attention and feels attracted towards every friend, relative or acquaintance of Farukh who all the time criticizes her:

“You laugh too loudly, you touch men…” (p.109).

This male chauvinistic attitude of Farukh creates a gap in their relation. In the mountains of Dubair with Farukh, she gets attracted towards Major Mushtaq. Carol easily persuades Major Mushtaq as his family is in Peshawar and occasionally he visits him. The extra marital affair between Carol and Major Mushtaq results in Farukh’s over-possessiveness and jealousy towards her. She asks Major Mushtaq to marry her but he also refuses saying:

“You don’t understand all. In spite of what you hear about our being able to have four wives, we take marriage and divorce very seriously. It involves more than just emotions. It is a social responsibility….” (p.181).

Carol feels betrayed by Major Mushtaq and tries to settle with Farukh, but the separate moral codes of that society makes her to think about Farukh’s reactions on her disloyalty. She knows:

“Women get killed for one reason or other…imagined insults, family honour, infidelity…” (p.223).

Terrified by the thought, she asks Mushtaq about Farrukh’s reaction:

“Do you think Farukh would kill me? Mushtaq replies, “Who knows? I might, if you were my wife” (p.224).

Major Mushtaq’s words reveal the true condition of women. Women have been subjugated, tortured, tormented and then killed at the hands of their male counterparts. And then it is said that women ask to get murdered. In our society there are different codes for males and females. Men and women are equally responsible for the crime but it is only women who are punished.

Carol finds it difficult to cope up with the dual standards of the post-colonial society and decides to go back. She tells Farukh:

“I think I’m finally beginning to realize something…Your civilization is too ancient….too different…and it has always hurt me…really hurt me….” (p.229).

Even though she enjoyed the undue attention and the over protective behavior of men towards her, yet she despised the dual standards of men. She feels restless by the traditional attitude of Pakistanis’ towards the female members of the society. She goes back to America to regain her lost confidence and to be alive.

The dilemma that Carol faces has been presented very categorically - the fear of Major Mushtaq to accept Carol and the forgiveness to him from Farukh. Even the physical appearances of the woman, Zaitoon, who was overawed and confused about the light tinted skin and Carol’s bright skin and halo of golden lit hair and by the stilted foreign accent made Zaitoon smile has been discussed.

Why do these women have to be so goddamn coy thought Carol? You ought to know better than ask such delicate questions, dear,’ reprimanded Farukh primly. ‘Our women, particularly the young girls, are modest, you know.’ Furious at the rebuke, Carol’s face burned red. Tears smarting in her eyes made them sparkle: ‘Really! One would imagine they achieved one of the highest birth rates in the world by immaculate conception!’ The room was suddenly still, hot with Carol’s anger and Farukh’s consternation. (p.133)

The Pakistani tribesmen had a very indifferent attitude towards Carol’s dressing sense. The Pakistani men had an overtly protective attitude to their womenfolk as they make them wear the all covered ‘Burkha’ as Carol teasingly says:

‘Maybe I should wear a Burkha!’Her voice was sharp with annoyance’. . Mushtaq said “It’s not bad as all that…. ‘It is’ she snapped ‘havent they ever seen a woman before?” (p.113).

The third and the most important bride of the novel is Zaitoon. She is the leading character of the book. She loses her parents in the communal riots during partition of the subcontinent, at the age of five. Zaitoon was going to Lahore along with her parents. Qasim was also in the same train. At the border, a group of looting Sikhs attacks the train and murder Zaitoon’s parents along with other passengers. In some way Qasim also manages to escape and in chaos he saves the little Zaitoon as well. Zaitoon, called Munni then clings to Qasim’s legs calling him, “Abba, Abba, my Abba!” Earlier he wants to cut her throat to get rid of her, as his tribal ways had taught him to end up the thing that bothers him. After a while he accepts her as she reminds him of his dead daughter, who was also five years old at the time of her death. Therefore he adopts and name Munni after his dead daughter’s name- Zaitoon. She adjusts herself according to the situation. With the help of Miriam and her husband Nikka, the childless neighbors of Qasim in Lahore, he brings up Zaitoon. Though they shower all their love and affection on Zaitoon, yet the societal norms make them behave in boundaries. Qasim sent Zaitoon to school, but as soon as the girl attends the school till the age of ten, Miriam objects and tells Nikka:

 “Now that she’s learned to read the Holy Quran, what will she do with more reading and writing- boil and drink it? She’s not going to become a baboo or an officer! No, Allah willing, she’ll get married and have children.” (p.52).

This shows that women are subjugated not only at the hands of men but they themselves also play a part in suppressing other female members of the society. Initially this practice was started by the male members of our society who feared that the learned women might stand equivalent to them and these women might question their supremacy, thus they injected in women the notion that the four walls of the house are everything for them. Miriam takes it as her duty to transfer all the skill of household tasks to Zaitoon. She says:

Poor child…had she a mother she’d be learning to cook and sew….does Bhai Qasim think he’s rearing a boy? He ought to give some thought to her marriage…’ ‘But she’s only a baby,’ protested Nikka. ‘A baby? She’s ten! I can already see her body shaping. The Pathan doesn’t realize she is in the hot plains of the Punjab: everything ripens early here…she’ll be safe only at her mother in law’s… A girl is never too young to marry… (p.53).

Here the means by which the society tries to reject the responsibilities of the parents citing countless unclear logic of regional locations and their influences on the growth patterns are described.

Also it clarifies that the discrimination starts at a very tender age. At the same time, it highlights the regular backbiting by other elder male chauvinists which continues the male dominance. In further sections of the story, Sidhwa gives a very clear description of the bias practiced against the women behind the four walls of the house. For female and male members of the society, the house is divided into separate portions - the inner and relatively darker parts of the room is given to the females to keep them safe from the outside world.

Rooms with windows open to the street were allotted to the men: the dim maize of inner rooms to the women-a domain given over to procreation, female odors and the interminable care of children. Smells of urine, stale food and cooking hung in the unventilated air, churning slowly, room to room permeating wood, brick and mortar. Generations of babies had wet mattresses, sofas and rugs spilled milk, sherbets and foods and wiped hands on ragged curtains; and just in case smell should fade, armies of new born infants went on arriving to ensure the odours were perpetuated. (p.56)

This description shows the condition of women and the inhumane treatment which they receive at the hands of the men members of their family even in the positioning and maintenance of the house .The environment inside the four walls of the house has been discriminated in form of polluted air to breathe is for the women and the furnishing too is in a very unhealthy an d unhygienic conditions. It deals with the turmoil of the men folk during their stay at regions not suited to the basic development of womenfolk.

Once Qasim’s cousin brother Misri Khan visits him and Qasim promises Zaitoon’s marriage to Misri Khan’s son. Fascinated by the wonderful life in mountains, she agrees to marry Qasim’s nephew, Saki. Though Miriam and Nikka oppose Qasim and even try to discourage Zaitoon by saying:

“You are ours. We’ll marry you to a decent Punjabi who will understand our ways. Tell your father you don’t want to marry a tribal.” (pp. 97-98).

Zaitoon who is already spell bound by the dreams of her father’s glorious home says shyly, “I cannot cross my father”. (p980.). Failing to dissuade Zaitoon, finally Miriam moves towards Qasim and says:

“Is it because that Pathan offered you five hundred rupees- some measly maize and a few goats? Is that why you are selling her like a greedy merchant? I will give you that, and more…Nikka will! How much more do you want? We will buy her”. (p.94)

Infuriated by Miriam’s words Qasim shouts:

“ Sisters Miriam, it is not for the goats and maize, please believe me. It is my word- the word of a Kohistani!”(p.94).

Here again a girl - the daughter is used to re-establish the loose ends of relations. Qasim uses her daughter, as gift, to please his people and to restart his tribal relations. Second time in the novel a woman is used as a commodity to start the trade of relations. When they reach there Zaitoon’s realizes that Miriam’s words were true that she does not belong to the mountains, she tries to convince Qasim by saying:

“But, Abba, I am not of the hills. I am not of your tribe. I am not even yours”. (p.140).

One night she gets up and clings to Qasim crying:

“Abba, take me to the planes when you go. Please don’t leave me here. Take me with you”. (p.157).

She further says:

“If I must marry, marry to someone from the plains. That jawan at the camp, Abba, I think he likes me. I will die rather than live here”. (p.157).

Surprised by her shamelessness, he pushes her back and says:

“I’ve given my word, your marriage is to be a week from today. Tomorrow your betrothed goes to invite guests from neighbouring villages. I’ve given my word. On it depends my honour. It is dearer to me than life. If you besmirch it, I will kill you with my bare hands”. (p.158)

After saying this he grips her throat with his shaking hands. The tribal code of honor is very strict for which a father offers his daughter against his debts and is about to kill his beloved daughter and later on for this honor a husband brutally beats his wife.

After her marriage Zaitoon has been treated very badly by her husband, Sakhi. On the very night of their wedding Sakhi behaves violently and beats Zaitoon:

“He crouched, lifting her legs free of silk. Fiercely kicking out, Zaitoon leapt over the charpoy. She screamed…and she screamed and screamed, ‘Abba, save me,’ she shrieked. Why didn’t Qasim come? Or any of the others?” (p.160).

 Moreover, Sakhi is provoked by his brother to keep his wife in his own hands:

“How is your wife from plains? You know, she requires a man to control her…’he murmured in thin-lipped scorn”.

In one way or the other, Sakhi torture and beat Zaitoon even for false reasons, he beats and kicks her until she faints and he gets exhausted.

“He beat her on the slightest pretext. She no longer thought of marriage with any sense of romance. She now lived only to placate him, keeping her head averted unless it was to listen to a command. Then her eyes were anxious and obsequious like those of Hamida (Sakhi’s mother)”. (p.174).

Finally Zaitoon decides to run away from there and one day she goes to fetch water and hides herself behind the hills. After the journey of many days she reaches the military camp and is helped by the soldiers. Eventually her journey from subjugation to survival ends up, leaving her with a question, ‘where should she go?’ She cannot go back to the house of her husband neither she can go to Lahore where she will never be welcomed. Sidhwa leaves the question unanswered.

Bapsi Sidhwa’s A Pakistani Bride is culminated with an insight into the insecurely poised position of womenfolk in the male dominant society. The writer has very clearly depicted the plight of women and the biased treatment of men towards them.

In Surah 4, Verse 1, the Quran says:

“Both male and female were created out of one single life cell.”

 Again it is stated:

“Both men and women are honored and respected.” (17:70.)

“Husband and wife have equal rights and duties.” (22:28).

“Women can perform all those duties which men perform.” (33:35).

These verses from the Quran prove that girls are no less than boys in any respect. It is the males who manipulate the meaning and use it to possess goodwill. Women are equal to men if not superior.

Conclusion:

The novel provides us awareness about the subjugation atrocities on women. Zaitoon is a symbol of human spirit which struggles against all odds but exists with honesty. She is a representative of the strength of a woman. This male dominated society always tries to manipulate the laws and rules to overpower and subjugate women. New unjust laws are being developed to silence the rebel. This novel along with representing the female plight also records the trauma of partition. Though the story speaks about Pakistani society or the Indian subcontinent yet the issues discussed are entirely universal. Since ages women have been torture, killed and subjugated. Although the book reflects the society of 1940s but the issues discussed here still seem contemporary.

Work cited

Sidhwa, Bapsi. The Pakistani bride. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Print.

The Quran